Antiviral Activities of <i>Eucalyptus</i> Essential Oils: Their Effectiveness as Therapeutic Targets against Human Viruses

oleh: Daniel Mieres-Castro, Sunny Ahmar, Rubab Shabbir, Freddy Mora-Poblete

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-11-01

Deskripsi

Given the limited therapeutic management of infectious diseases caused by viruses, such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2, the medicinal use of essential oils obtained from <i>Eucalyptus</i> trees has emerged as an antiviral alternative, either as a complement to the treatment of symptoms caused by infection or to exert effects on possible pharmacological targets of viruses. This review gathers and discusses the main findings on the emerging role and effectiveness of <i>Eucalyptus</i> essential oil as an antiviral agent. Studies have shown that <i>Eucalyptus</i> essential oil and its major monoterpenes have enormous potential for preventing and treating infectious diseases caused by viruses. The main molecular mechanisms involved in the antiviral activity are direct inactivation, that is, by the direct binding of monoterpenes with free viruses, particularly with viral proteins involved in the entry and penetration of the host cell, thus avoiding viral infection. Furthermore, this review addresses the coadministration of essential oil and available vaccines to increase protection against different viruses, in addition to the use of essential oil as a complementary treatment of symptoms caused by viruses, where <i>Eucalyptus</i> essential oil exerts anti-inflammatory, mucolytic, and spasmolytic effects in the attenuation of inflammatory responses caused by viruses, in particular respiratory diseases.